


School Days

by Em_313



Series: Daisy [9]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Class Differences, Cute Kids, Gen, School, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 13:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19427251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_313/pseuds/Em_313
Summary: Jack and Katherine disagree on where to send Daisy to school.





	School Days

**March 1909 Daisy-6 Elliot and Benji-3 ½**

They’d been married almost a decade, but Jack still felt uneasy with Kat’s family. Katherine’s parents insisted on throwing Daisy a birthday party, because what more does a six-year-old want than a fancy lunch where she has to sit still? They survived the afternoon: Daisy basked in her grandparents’ attention, the twins didn’t break anything, and Jack and Joe quietly stared each other down over heavy crystal water glasses.

They _almost_ made it all the way out the door without an argument.

“Bye, Grandma.” Daisy said sweetly, hugging Kate around the waist.

“Bye, darling.” Kate said. “Happy birthday, again.”

Kat had a twin hanging from each hand. “Thanks for lunch.”

Joseph gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. “You’ve got a bright little girl there, Katherine.” He said. “Hard to believe she’ll be in school soon.”

Jack had his hand on the doorknob. “Oh, yes!” Kate smiled down at Daisy.

“Hard to believe.” Katherine said. Elliot stuck his knuckles in his mouth.

“You know,” Joe said, rubbing his beard. “if you need any help getting her into Oaks, I have plenty of connections.”

Kat nodded. “Thanks, Daddy.” Jack opened the door.

“Thank you, Joe.” he said. “Kate.”

“Bye-bye, honey.” Kate said.

As they walked down the sidewalk, Daisy skipped ahead in the spring sunshine. _Oaks Fine Arts Academy for Girls_. Jack thought. He watched his oldest spin in circles down the sidewalk, her purple bow sliding from her blonde curls. She didn’t belong in some prep school.

Jack waited until they’d safely wrangled the kids onto a streetcar and were almost home to say something. He sat next to Daisy, and Kat and the twins sat behind them.

“‘Ey, Kat?” He said, turning around. “What’d your folks mean when they said if we need help getting Daisy into Oaks?”

“Oh, well, you know my father’s been friends with the headmaster for years.” Kat said. “We shouldn’t need much help getting her in, though. That’s where I went, and Helen and Esther’s boys go to Maple Hill.” Daisy was the only granddaughter. Kat’s two socialite older sisters had five boys between them--all perfect angels in Joe and Kate’s eyes--who attended the boys’ school across the street from Oaks.

“She don’t need to go to finishing school.” Jack rolled his eyes. “What makes you think our spitfire belongs in some—some snooty rich school?”

“It’s not that bad.” Kat said.

Jack shook his head. “They don’t need to go to some rich-ass school just because that’s where you went.”

Katherine glared. “We’ll talk about this later, Jack.” She said sharply. “Not in front of the kids. Not in public.” Benji, Jack’s mini-me, draped his legs out into the aisle, giggling. Katherine grabbed him, sat him in her lap, then turned to face the window.

...

They didn’t get a chance to talk again until after they’d put the kids to bed. Katherine barely looked at Jack as she took off her earrings and put them in her jewelry box. He sat on the foot of their bed, watching her.

“‘Ey, Kitten?” He said.

“What?” She glanced at him in the mirror.

“When...when did we decide Daisy was goin’ to private school?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Kat started to brush her hair.

“Jeez, I just thought this would be the kinda decision we’d make together and not have ya folks making it for us.”

“Oh stop it.” Kat said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with my parents.”

“So you were just going to put her in private school without us even talkin’ about it?”

“Of course we can talk about it, Jack.” She put the brush down harder than she intended. “My dad brought it up before we got a chance, is all.” She stood up and disappeared into the closet for her nightgown. “You wanna talk about it now?”

“Yeah.” Jack said. His jaw was tight; he ground his teeth. “Yeah, I do.”

Kat emerged in pajamas with her hair piled on top of her head. Jack still sat at the foot of their bed, fully clothed. “Okay.” She said. “Change clothes and quit being defensive and then we’ll talk.”

“I ain’t being defensive.” He muttered.

She got into bed. “We have the money, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

Jack stood up. “It ain’t about the money.” He said. “It’s about you makin’ choices for our child without even askin’ me.” He roughly unbuttoned his shirt, threw it into the closet, and pulled on his pajamas with short, jerky motions.

“I’m not talking to you if you’re gonna be pissed off.” Kat said.

Jack took a shaky breath. “Fine. I’m not mad.” he said. She lifted up the covers and he got into bed with her. “I’s frustrated. But we can talk. Why ya think Daisy needs to go to Oaks?”

“It’s a wonderful school.” Katherine said. “If we can afford to give her the best opportunities and the best education, why shouldn’t we?”

“You didn’t even like it there.” Jack said.

“I didn’t...dislike it.” She said. “I didn’t dislike it until I was a teenager. I knew I wanted a career and the other girls were content to...to sit at home and throw tea parties and gossip. But when I was Daisy’s age I loved school. And _liking it_ doesn’t mean much.”

“But would public school be so bad?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know.” Kat said. “You’re the one who attended them.”

“They were fine.” Jack said. “I dunno. Awful lot of kids, I remember.”

Even after almost ten years together, even though he went to work in an office most days sketching cartoons for the country’s biggest newspaper, even though he lived in a home like the ones his mother had cleaned, Jack still felt like he was playing catch-up. At work and with Kat’s family, he was vigilant of his accent, his jokes, and his clothes. He stayed quiet when other people told stories of their childhoods or the trips they’d been. Some days, he felt like he’d only ever be a poor little boy stuck in New York. The cocky, restless seventeen-year-old strike leader still lived inside of him. The protective big brother who did anything he had to to keep his brothers safe still lived inside of him. The shy, grieving little boy who got his hand smacked with a ruler for drawing instead of reading still lived inside of him.

He buzzed a puff of air through his lips. “Of course I want Daisy to have the best oppurtunties possible, Kitten. What I didn’t get.”

“Is...is that what this is about?” She asked.

“Is _w_ _hat_ what this is about?” Jack snapped.

“You...I know--” Kat stuttered. “I mean--”

“I _went_ to school, Kat.” He said. “My da wasn’t the best reader, but he could fix anything that was broke. Anything. My ma was the busiest woman ya ever saw. Never sat down, never stopped moving. She told stories right from her head without a book or a pape, just her mind. Ain’t no crime in bein’ poor.”

“I know.” Kat said. She touched his arm. He shook her off. “I know all that. I’m not...judging.”

“Ya father is.”

“Oh forget my parents!” She said. She sighed. “I’m sorry it feels like I was jumping to a decision without you.”

“I guess we can look at Oaks.” He said.

“We’ll think about public schools, too.” She said. “You turned out okay, right?”

Katherine could already see her father’s anger, her mother’s confusion, her perfect older sisters’ disgust at sending their girl to school with immigrant children. But Katherine was far past caring was her family thought.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been rattling around in my brain for a bit and took a different direction than it might. Feels particularly appropriate to post now because I just accepted my first teaching job!! I'm very excited!   
> More Daisy school stories to come :) Let me know what you think! - Em


End file.
